Alice's Choice
by Ame to Yume
Summary: On one side was Shun, the one she loved. On the other was Lync, the one who had put everything he had into getting her. Alice Gehabich was at a loss. Set just after Mechtanium Surge. LyncXAlice with some ShunXAlice, DanXRuno and AceXMira. Rated T because I'm paranoid. Warning: contains random Japanese.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: I advise everyone reading this to brush up on the series, as this will contain spoilers from all season, mainly two and four. Using the magical skill called logic, we discover that if one's not seen the series, then one shall not read this. Get it? Wonderful!  
**

**That aside, I will ask you to forgive my tendency of slipping into random Japanese, but I just can't help myself. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan.**

**Starto!**

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Alice's Choice

Chapter One

The howling of the winter wind joined the sound of splashing water and clattering china as a red-haired girl named Alice Gehabich was washing the dishes.

She let out a soft sigh, looking out the window. She couldn't keep her mind on her chores, not when she thought about the recent events.

_Minna...thank goodness..._

They won against Wiseman. Everyone she cared about was safe. The love of her life returned her feelings. Everything was _wonderful._

Why then, couldn't she be as happy as she should be?

_Lync..._

For the past few weeks, she kept thinking of the pink-haired Vestal. The redhead gave another sigh, this time one thick with exasperation. She wished she could put these thoughts behind her, forget about them, but everything led back to them, to _him,_ like an endless loop she could not escape from.

"This is..." Stupid. She wanted to say it was stupid, worrying about her former enemy, the one who had lied to her of all people, when she should be thinking about Shun, her boyfriend and, hopefully, soon-to-be fiance. How badly she wanted to say it! Yet, every time she tried she could see Lync's face, hear his voice.

But, on second thought, Lync had saved her. He had saved everyone, in fact. He wasn't the enemy. He hadn't been in a long time...

She might have gone on staring out the window at the relentless snowfall, lost in these conflicting thoughts, had not a weak knock on her door jolted her out of her internal debate and made her come back to reality.

_Who could it be...so late at night?_

Next thing Alice knew what that her fingers, clumsy with nervous anticipation, were unlocking the door. Why she was opening the door, when it was cold and snowing outside, she did not know. She looked out into the growing snowstorm, and her gaze was met with a constant swirl of flakes. They caressed her face with their frozen, feathery touch as she stared out into the night.

"Who's there?"

Suddenly, she felt cold fingers seize her chin and turn her face into the frigid wind, into a pair of sea green eyes she hadn't seen in a long time, but she could in no way mistake.

_Lync..._

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**A/N: There you have it, everybody. Sorry if it was kind of short, but for one thing, I do not have the patience to write overly long stories, and for another, I think that detail is good but putting in too much would make the story boring.  
**

**Also, for all of you who are wondering about _minna,_ it's a word in Japanese (duh, what did I say about my random Japanese at the beginning of the chapter?) and it means _everyone._**

**Love and Rainbows,  
**

**Ame to Yume**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: See, I told you I'd be back.  
**

**Here you have second chapter, everybody. Expect nothing fantastic, but take your time to read. Also, drop in a review if you feel like it. It's really appreciated, and constructive criticism is even more appreciated. Flames, however, will have marshmallows and other tasty foods thrown into them.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan. If I did, New Vestoia episodes 46, 47 and 49 wouldn't exist. **

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Chapter Two

Alice's mind went momentarily blank. All thoughts fled, everything from what she had for dinner to, not that she'd admit it, especially not to herself, her love for Shun. Everything vanished into the arms of oblivion as Lync's turquoise gaze settled on her.

As her mental gears slowly resumed their turning, Alice's first coherent thought was how cold his fingers felt and how they trembled slightly.

A quick look at his whole form and she let out a gasp of disturbed surprise, fully realizing the state he was in. The light pink of his hair was lightened even more by a fine layer of snow. She could see the frost on his long eyelashes. Suddenly, she was aware that the slight trembling of his fingers was just an offshot of shivers wracking his body.

"Long time...no see...ne, Alice?" he asked softly, having to pause a couple of times to take in shallow breaths of air

"What...how...how did you - "

Her voice refused to serve her. There was no was she could say anything.

"I couldn't...stay away...from you...for long..." he answered, smiling weakly

Alice knew that was Lync's way of showing her everything will be alright. But somehow, she couldn't smile. Not now. Not when Lync Volan needed her help.

His arms grabbed her shoulders as he was trying to hold himself up

"Come...come in, Lync." she said shakily, having to bite her lip to stop its quivering

She backed away from him, giving him all the space he needed. She watched as he took unsteady steps and the true horror of the situation dawned on her. She bit her lip again, this time in despair. To put it simply, he was terribly exhausted and nearly frozen.

Without warning, his knees buckled, his eyes fluttered closed, and he sank to the ground. His fall seemed to drag on forever. Her eyes followed his endless descent, stared at him in paralyzed shock.

A few moments later, her paralysis broke. Soon, she found herself with her arms half-encircled around the Vestal boy to keep him from hitting the floor.

_What...just happened...?_

What happened, she did not know. However, she could see that the boy needed her help.

_I can't just leave him, can I?_

There was no leaving him, not like this.

_I can't, not like this. I won't let him die._

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**A/N: Hm, it didn't come out as I expected, but meh. My hands did all the typing. Blame them. Now for all of you who are wondering about _ne, _it's the Japanese equivalent of our question tags.  
**

**Love and Cookies,**

**Ame to Yume**


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: In case you weren't paying attention, I'll go over and explain _minna _and _ne _again. These two, my friends, are words in Japanese. _Minna _means everyone and _ne _is the equivalent of our question tags.**

**That aside, I want you to take your time to read this chapter. Also, drop in a review if you feel like it. **

**Disclaimer: Proof of my not owning Bakugan: New Vestroia episodes 46, 47 and 49. Nuff said. -.-'**

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Chapter Three  


Alice took a deep breath, settling herself for what she had to do. She carried Lync all the way upstairs, to the room he occupied for a few days when he lived at her house.

She gingerly lay him down on the bed, and brushed the frozen bangs from his eyes. As she did so, tears, unbidden, unwelcome, but inevitable, filled her eyes. She had been so accustomed to seeing him arrogant, full of himself and annoying, that she had been shocked at his collapse to the extent that she had been rooted to the spot for a few moments.

Alice left the room, hurried down the hallway, and adjusted the thermostat to a few degrees higher than normal, then went to get a few extra blankets. That done, she returned, too quickly becoming aware of the situation she was in. She watched as the boy's body, lying unconscious, still shook with cold.

_How long had he been out there?_

The girl shook her head to clear it, bringing herself back to the real Earth, where Lync needed her help.

She pulled the blankets over him, smoothing them out and adjusting them until she was sure that he was totally covered. He had not stopped shivering, and it occurred to her that his body temperature had fallen far below normal. She thought that she should get a thermometer and check, but she had no idea what normal temperature was for a Vestal, and even if she did, she could not bring herself to leave.

Everything had happened far too quickly for her to understand what was going on. All she knew is that Lync Volan had turned up at her door after three years.

_How had he...how did he get here?_

Another question Alice had no answer for. She gave a frustrated sigh, trying to distract her thoughts. Help in that department came quickly.

"Alice!" Dr. Michael's voice came from the other side of the door

_Grandfather!_

Alice rose to open the door.

"Yes, grandfather, what is it?" she inquired

"I have been searching for you. What happened?"

"Come in, grandfather." she said, rather timidly

As Michael Gehabich entered the room, his eyes fell on Lync's sleeping form.

"It can't be..."

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**A/N: I have to tell you, when I saw the review from 'random fellow' I was like 'OMG, are people actually reading this crap?'. But what can I say, I guess I am pretty good at writing stories. And yeah, I know my random Japanese puts people off, but I really_ can't_ help myself.  
**

**Love and Kitties, **

**Ame to Yume**


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N: This fourth chapter will contain fluff because I found my fluff-related weakness. Now my best friends are going to exploit it (I know you're there reading this, girls). I am lucky because they are queens of fluff and according to them, I am getting good at it too.  
**

**Disclaimer: Go check YouTube. Are New Vestroia episodes 46, 47 and 49 still there? Yes? Then that means I don't own Bakugan. **

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Chapter Four

"It can't be..."

Yet it was. Lync Volan had returned in their house and possibly, no, _surely, _in their lives. Michael Gehabich knew enough to be certain that the pink-haired boy won't leave that quickly. It was not like Michael _wanted _Lync to leave, but still...

"Grandfather?"

The train of thought derailed as Alice's voice brought Michael back to reality.

"Yes?" he asked

"Can Lync stay?"

Michael blinked a few times, surprised at his granddaughter's request, but then, his eyes fell on the boy's sleeping form and he realized why Alice would ask that. Lync needed help. Lots of it in fact.

"Yes he can."

"Thank you, grandfather."

It wasn't long before Michael left the room, leaving the two alone. Alice returned to the bedside, returned to watching how Lync slept on. He wasn't shivering so badly as before, so Alice figured he was getting better. Smiling, she began to run her fingers through his hair.

_This isn't Shun! _a voice in her head hissed _This isn't Shun, so what are you doing?_

What did she mean by touching Lync while he was sleeping? And so tenderly, too? She drew her hand back, faster than if she was pulling it away from a venomous snake. Unfortunately for her, the unbelievable happened.

"Alice?" Lync inquired weakly, his turquoise eyes opening "Why did you stop?"

Alice glared.

"How long have you been _awake_?" she demanded

"Mm...long enough." he joked

"You're such a baka, do you know that?" Alice said, pretending to be serious

"You're so pretty. You should know that." he replied, finally earning a smile from Alice

"You need to rest, Lync." she advised

He was still sick, but he was feeling better. The fact that he was his former self again was a good thing. Alice rose to leave the room.

"Leaving already? I thought you'd stay a little longer." Lync said, disappointment evident in his voice

"Don't worry, I'll come back." she reassured

Just as she was about to open the door, a soft uttered word, free of sarcasm, gently cut through the thick silence that had settled.

"Thanks."

After that, his strength seemingly gave out, because his eyes closed and his breath evened out.

Alice left the room before she could bother with another thought.

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**A/N: Review please. At least give me a good reason for _killing_ my sleep. Also,_ baka_ means idiot or moron, just in case you're asking yourselves what does it mean.  
**

**Love and Candy, **

**Ame to Yume**


End file.
